The Historic Lindsley Avenue Church

National Register of Historic Places

Presented by Steve Garrett March 2015

This presentation takes a look at the Historic Lindsley Avenue Church, located in downtown Nashville, Tennessee.

My involvement with the church began in 2004 when the congregation hired my landscaping company, Brentwood Landscapes, Inc., to maintain the small grounds around the building.

For the last 14 years, I have become involved with the church’s various ministries and have been able to offer all of the grounds maintenance services on a volunteer basis.

This presentation is, therefore, being offered from both a professional and personal point of view. It is my personal belief that if it were not for the historic building where the congregation assembles and carries out its ministries, this church would have shut its doors many years ago (as so many others have). If this is true, then the impact of history and architecture should not be underestimated.

North Elevation

The first thing that attracted me to this church was the building. Sitting in the heart of Nashville, the building is a gem of late 19th century architecture. I have met many people who have attended this church just because they were drawn there by the unique building.

The story of this church, and the two congregations that have called it home, is also very compelling. In one sense, it is the story of what has occurred in many metropolitan areas across America, as urban centers were deserted and devolved into run-down neighborhoods and inner city blight.

But it is also a story of revival. The church managed to weather the 1960s-1980s, and is now partaking in the same renovation occurring in most of Nashville’s inner city.

In an effort to create awareness about the church and its efforts to preserve the historical building, I created this presentation to tell the story of how this church building has been the place of worship and ministry for many individuals and the impact it has had and continues to have on the lives of many Nashville residents over many years.

I have divided this presentation into five sections: 1. 1. A Brief History 2. 2. The Neighborhood 3. 3. Community Outreach 4. 4. The Fellowship Today 5. 5. Preserving the Past

A Brief History

THE CHURCH BUILDING The church building, located at the corner of Lindsley Avenue and Second Avenue in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, was designed by Robert Sharp, a Nashville architect, in the red brick Romanesque revival style with gothic influences for the Grace Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Construction began in 1894 and concluded in 1895. At least some of the stained-glass windows appear to have come from an earlier building, as one major window has the date “1885” in the center of the stained glass. When the College Street Church of Christ purchased the building in 1920, they brought several interesting pieces of furniture to the church, including the mahogany pulpit stands and the oak carved pulpit chairs. The church was nominated for the Metro Historical Commission’s Architectural Award in 1978 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The building continues to serve as the place of assembly for the Lindsley Avenue Church of Christ and its ministries.

Grace Cumberland Presbyterian Church (1897)

(1939)

CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY The congregation known today as the Lindsley Avenue Church of Christ traces its history back to around 1855 when David Lipscomb, a leader in the 19th century Disciples of Christ “restoration movement” and founder of the Nashville Bible School (now Lipscomb University), conducted a Bible service attended by three women and a young boy. Following this humble beginning, Sunday school classes and preaching services were held at various times and places in keeping with Lipscomb’s efforts to establish congregations across the growing city close to where people live.

For nearly 22 years, the group begun by Lipscomb existed as a “mission” church. Although not apparently set in order with elders and deacons, this early group did have an active Sunday School, which was one of the largest among the disciples of Christ in Tennessee.

Later, some devoted Christians living in South Nashville purchased a lot on South College Street (now 805 Third Avenue South). The mission work assumed a definite shape in the spring of 1887 when a regular afternoon Sunday school began and preaching services commenced in a hall near the corner of Cherry and Mulberry Streets. The church members engaged in this work raised money to build a meetinghouse on the purchased lot, and within a short time, they had sufficient finances to begin building. The first building could accommodate about 300 people and was later enlarged to a seating capacity of 640. This building has since been demolished.

Church Leaders (L-R) David Lipscomb, James A. Harding, Ira North

On Sunday November 13, 1887, College Street Christian Church held their the first worship service the new building, and evangelist T.B. Larimore delivered the sermon. Under Larimore’s preaching, the congregation set itself in order and appointed David Lipscomb, J.C. Martin, and W.H. Timmons as the congregation’s first elders. This first revival meeting continued for several weeks and resulted in 120 new members. Other preachers who conducted protracted “gospel meetings” for the church include J.A. Harding, F.W. Smith, E.A. Elam, J.S. Sweeny, and Cornelius A. Moore, who became the congregation’s first regular preacher around 1897.

The congregation continued to increase and prosper, and, at the end of 33 years, they sought larger facilities. In 1920, the congregation purchased the Grace Presbyterian Church, located one block away on the corner of Lindsley and Second Avenues. The two churches “swapped” buildings, and an additional $5,000 was paid to Grace Presbyterian to complete the purchase. At this time, the South College Street Church of Christ absorbed the Carroll Street Christian Church, forming Lindsley Avenue Church of Christ. On October 17, 1920, F.W. Smith of Franklin, Tennessee preached the first sermon at the first worship service at the Lindsley Avenue building with an estimated 1,600 in attendance. On July 1, 1923 James A. Allen became minister and served the church in this capacity for 17 years. In February 1945, Ira North became the regular minister and continued to serve the church for five years.

The church continues to be active in the Lindsley Avenue neighborhood. The congregation established the Youth Hobby Shop (now Youth Encouragement Services) to serve young residents living in neighboring government housing units. Additionally, the congregation has an annual food collection for Second Harvest Food Bank, an annual Christmas concert to collect toys for Youth Encouragement Services, and an active homeless ministry. In February 2018, the congregation will begin a Christian-based addiction recovery program.

(1940s)

The Neighborhood

Lindsley Ave. Church

Youth Encouragement &Wayne Reed Childcare

Napier/Sudekum Housing

Howard CampusMetro Offices

Napier/Sudekum Housing

• Annual income $9,000

• Median age 20

• 88% black / 8.5% white

• 38% high school grad.

• 92% single-parent

• 89% live below poverty level

• Among highest crime rates in city

Wayne Reed Christian Child Care Center

Half-Way Houses on Lindsley Avenue

Nearby Adult Businesses

Redevelopment on Lindsley Avenue

Music City Center Rolling Mill Hill

The Gulch

Chestnut Hill

Community Outreach

Helping the Homeless

Holiday Fruit Baskets

Community Services

Toy Drive

Men's Prayer Group

Vacation Bible School

Spiritual Formation Workshops

Food Collection for Second Harvest Food Bank

The Fellowship Today

Sunday School

Picnics at the Park

Holiday Fellowships

Community Open House

Celebrating Life Together

Preserving The Past

The years have taken their toll on the building. By the early 2000s, the exterior of the church and the interior were deteriorating badly. Water damage from poor drainage and roof leaks had damaged the interior plaster walls. Beginning around 2008, the congregation undertook several restoration projects to address some of the most pressing issues. Unfortunately, the small church membership of less than 50 people scarcely had the funds to do handle the needed exterior brick work, nor did the church have the knowledge of which projects should be done first. In 2014, several members of the church established a 501©(3) non-profit named Preserve Lindsley Avenue Now (PLAN). The express purpose of PLAN is to raise funds and handle most of the church building renovation work. Many exterior brick restorations have taken place over the last three years.

Classroom renovation revealed damaged electrical wiring (2009)

New copper bell tower roof (2017)